Coming For You
by ourobsession
Summary: An ancient war between families is about to be continued by the next generation of witches and warlocks. Choices must be made and duties must be kept top priority. Family pride must be upheld... But what happens when things don't go exactly as you planned
1. Prolouge

A/N: Hi everyone! Well, I'd just like to say that this fiction is a joint project between me (Angeli a.k.a DeaSelene) and Bea. And it was our love for Tyler Sims that brought us together to make this fiction. So on behalf of the both of us, we hope you guys enjoy!

Disclaimer: We do not own anything from The Covenant or any of J.S. Cardone's creations. The only thing we DO own is our original character.

**I'm Coming For You**

By: Ourobsession

**Prologue: **

In a shabby shack riddled with weatherworn planks & hidden deep in a forest, a secret meeting was taking place. Two people with the same dark hair were seated face-to-face in the candle lit cabin. One was an older man, and the other, a girl, his daughter. They spoke in low, urgent tones.

"It is nearly time, my child. Time to avenge our blood," the man said, eyeing his daughter intently. "Time to take our rightful place." The girl sat with her eyes closed, picturing the scene in her head; picturing the shame her forefathers had endured throughout the centuries. Yes, the time has indeed come at last.

"You know what you must do. Bring back our pride. We are counting on you, my daughter." The girl finally opened her eyes, eyes so vividly purple and ethereal. At last she spoke, "I understand, Father. I will do what must be done." And with that, she stood up, kissed her father's head, and walked out into the cold night. She had a mission to do.

_I'm coming for you._


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 

"Dammit!" said a brown-haired boy with crystal blue eyes as he dropped a ring of keys to the ground. It was a cold and dreary day with skies as gray as the cobble stone steps that covered the small walkways in which the students of Spencer academy were hurriedly crossing. It looked like it was going to rain, but of course, this kind of weather wasn't anything unusual for the small town.

"Hey Ty!" shouted a blond-haired boy as he wrenched open the door the brunette had been trying to open just a while ago. "Shit, dude!" said the boy named Tyler as he crouched down to get his keys. "Why couldn't you have just left the freaking door open?" he grumbled, straightening himself up. "Hey, don't take that tone with me, baby boy." Came his friend's warning reply. "Whatever, Reid. Just get out of the way?" he said, shoving past him. "Hey, don't get your panties in a twist." Reid said, raising both hands in mock surrender and making room for him to pass.

Tyler stormed into the room in a complete huff, his temper rising with every smart-ass remark his friend shot at him. "God, Reid, what were you doing in here anyway?" he asked, sinking into his mattress. "What's it to you?" he said in a tone of finality, grabbing the keys from Tyler's clenched fist and shaking them in front of his eyes. "See you later, baby boy." he hollered back with a twisted, mischievous smile before he wrenched open the door once more and disappeared through it, setting out for another night of trouble, no doubt.

Tyler sunk in even deeper into his bed, letting his anger and frustration seep into him. He had had enough of all his friends' berating him and treating him like someone incapable of doing anything for himself. True, he was known to be a follower, but it didn't mean he was any less of a man. He sighed to himself and shut his eyes tightly, letting sleep take over in hopes of a better day.

-

_Earlier that afternoon_

"Hey Caleb!" said Tyler as he pulled him closer to touch shoulders in greeting. They had just come from history class and were now standing in front of one of the many rows of lockers that lined the hallways of the elite academy.

Caleb was a well-built person, with handsome features and dark hair. He was one of Tyler's closest friends. He was also Spencer Academy's top freestyle swimming champion and captain of the swim team that Tyler and Reid were also in. Although, it wasn't just being in the swim team that made them build such a powerful friendship, Rather, it was their history. There were four of them: Caleb, the fearless leader; Reid, the bad-ass with a reckless demeanor; Pouge, Caleb's right-hand man with a fiery passion; and then there was Tyler, sweet and sort of shy and forever trying to prove his worth to his other friends. He would have actually been less cocky than he let on if not for Reid, whom he spent most of his time with; following him around relentlessly and causing trouble.

They were more than just friends; they were brothers.

The four of them met during the summer at Camp Iwanahee, where they discovered more about themselves and each other than they could have ever imagined in their entire lives. For these boys not only shared a great bond, they also shared a great power. A power that was passed on to each of their ancestors with each generation that passed. It was The Power. It was so great that the person who was born and gifted with it could do anything to everything imaginable. And one way to tell if they had that power was to look at their irises, which turned blacker than coal whenever they used it.

Ever since that time at camp, they became inseparable. They took everything together, from classes to swimming. One could not be seen without the other lurking by somewhere.

But no matter how reckless they got with their powers and partying, they still always managed to get excellent grades and a clean record at Spencer Academy. They even managed to make a name for themselves and were given the title of "The Sons of Ipswich", for it was their four families that first settled into the town and made it into what it was today.

"So, you comin' with me and Reid to Nicky's tonight?" he asked, working out the combination to his own locker. "No, man. I don't think I can. I've got a date with Sarah tonight." He said, leaning on locker door beside Tyler's. _Nicky's _was a local bar in town where most of the people their age liked to hang out and have a good time. That night, someone was planning a party there which would later move on to a beach party over at the Dells, where most of the rowdy Spencer parties were usually held. "So why can't you just bring her along, like all the other times?" he said, trying to convince him. "Tonight's kind of special. It's her birthday." He reasoned with him.

"Okay, man but you're gonna miss out on one hell of a party." Caleb laughed at his younger friend's persuasion piece, patting him on the shoulder with a grin. "Baby boy, you're gonna change your mind about that once you have a lady of your own." Tyler flinched at this. He hated being called that name as much as he hated being the only one in the group who couldn't get a girl of his own. Of course, Reid didn't have a girlfriend but that was just because he developed a reputation for going from one girl to another.

Just then, a boy with curly hair that fell to his shoulders came up to the two of them and greeted them in the same manner Tyler did. "Hey, gentlemen." He said. "Any plans for tonight?"

"Got a date with Sarah."

"Me and Reid are going to a party at Nicky's. Hey Pouge, wanna -- ?"

"Hey, Baby!" a dark skinned girl with long black hair called out, hugging the boy named Pogue and cutting Tyler in mid-sentence. Pouge hugged her back affectionately and planted a kiss on her forehead before continuing. "Sorry, man. What were you saying?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to crash a party with me and Reid tonight…"

Tyler was sorting through his locker, in search of something but the papers and books that were scattered everywhere made it quite a task. "Aw, sorry man. I'm spending my night with Kate." Replied Pouge from behind his back. Tyler stopped searching for whatever it was he was looking for and rolled his eyes. Was there ever a night Pouge wasn't spending _without_ Kate? He gave a small sigh, feeling a bit let down by his brothers. Luckily for him, party-hard Reid was still around to join in on the fun. "Sorry to hear that," he started, turning around to face him, trying to find words that didn't sound like he was insulting Kate and all the time the couple spent together. "But I'll tell you what I told Caleb a while ago: You're gonna miss out on one hell of a party."

"Sorry, bud, but I'm gonna have to skip on the whole Nicky's thing." Came a familiar cocky voice. It was Reid, a particularly happy Reid. Tyler's face fell at his words. Great, what could he be doing to make him skip the ultimate party? "See that chick over there?" he continued with his smug smile still plastered on his face. He cocked his head in the direction of a very good-looking redhead, who was now giggling over something with her friends. "Who? Megan?" interrupted Kate from beside Pouge. "Yeah, her – Listen, I said I would take her to the party tonight and _well…"_

He began, hoping Tyler would fill in the blanks. "God, Reid. Not you too…" he said to him, slamming his locker door shut, irritated at the fact that his friends were bailing on him. "What am I supposed to do now?" He complained. "It's cool, man." Pouge said and patted the youngest member on the back. "We can still head out tomorrow night. I mean, after all I've got nothing planned." Tyler became even more irritated. He felt like a little kid again.

"Come on, guys" said Caleb as he checked his watch and broke the silence. "Swim time."

He was the first to start walking but soon enough the others followed him, along with Kate who decided to watch from the stands.

When they arrived at the locker room, the boys quickly changed into their uniform navy-blue Speedos and headed to the pools one by one. Tyler was the last one to exit the locker room and found himself in a very empty pool arena. There was no trace of the coach or of his brothers, not even Kate was there. "Guys?" he found himself calling out.

It was eerily quiet, not even the small splashes of water against the corners of the pool made a sound. "Guys!! Coach!! Kate?" he called out once more, but still there was no answer.

Suddenly, Tyler saw something move from the corner of his eye. It moved quite fast and looked like a cloud of black ink seeping in from somewhere. The boy felt an immediate fear but also had a sense of wonder towards the figure. Eventually, curiosity got the best of him and he decided to edge nearer to it.

The figure seemed bigger and creepier up close but he wanted an even closer look, so he crouched down near the waters. He squinted, trying to get a more solid image and make sense of it all. Then all too quickly, a hand came bursting out from the water, grabbing his own and pulling him into the chlorinated pool.

-

Tyler's eyes shot open as he gasped for air, being woken up by both his horrible dream and the annoying ringing tone his mobile phone made from his bedside table. "Hello?" he said in a hoarse voice, his eyes still adjusting to the orange ray of sunlight streaming through the Venetian blinds of his dorm room. "Where are you, man?" came Caleb's familiar voice from the other end of the line. "Why? Where should I be?" he replied, forgetting what time and what day it was. "Training!!" he exclaimed. Immediately Tyler sprang up from his bed, grabbing a duffle bag from under his bed, a towel, his Speedos and a couple more things before getting back to his friend. "Be right there." He said, flipping his phone closed and rushing out the door. He was going to be doing some extra laps today, he was sure of it.


	3. Chapter 2

Coming for You-Chapter 2

Tyler was too ashamed to look the coach in the eye. When he got to the arena the team was already toweling off and the coach wasn't looking too happy. He ordered Tyler to proceed immediately to his office. He was in for a verbal beating. The coach was now walking back and forth behind Tyler's chair, making him seem like a prowling lion.

"Mr. Sims," started the coach, making Tyler wince. The coach only used their family names when he was seriously pissed off.

"Now I know that sometimes we get a little full of ourselves. You might be feeling awfully good about yourself right now, having just won the division swim meet. You might be feeling like a god. You might be thinking that you don't need to practice anymore. Well let me tell you this: you have a long way to go, Mr. Sims," the coach thundered behind him," you are still under my training, and until I say otherwise, bear in my mind that you suck! You are not the best swimmer in the world so do not, I repeat, do not assume that you can now miss practice just because you won a single crappy tournament." Tyler ducked his head again before saying,

"It won't happen again, coach. I apologize." He stood up and turned to leave. The coach caught his shoulder in a vise-like grip.

'Not so fast, Mr. Sims. Do you really think you're off the hook so easily? I'm sure a little manual labor will help you in pulling your over inflated ego back down to earth," the coach said, walking to his desk. Tyler grimaced before turning to face the coach.

"How about I make you the unofficial pick-up boy until I see a change in your attitude, hm? Perhaps that would help you some. It's quite a simple job really. Just clean up after them, towel, suits, dirty laundry left in the locker rooms, that kind of thing. I'm sure it will do that pride of yours a mountain of good," the coach said, in Tyler's opinion, cruelly. He faked a smile.

"Sounds like just the thing, sir," Tyler said, already turning to go.

"That's the girls' and boys' team, Mr. Sims," coach called after him. Tyler stopped in his tracks, winced again, and then turned to the coach with another strained and fake smile. He gave a stiff nod of his head and left the office quickly. He walked towards the door that separated the offices from the wetter parts of the building. As he opened the door he had a sudden déjà vu thing about his dream just earlier. Cautiously he opened the door and heaved a sigh of relief when he heard the normal sounds of the swimming arena. He glanced around to look for his friends and saw them leaning by the stands already in their street clothes and talking amongst themselves. Tyler made his way over to them, but stopped dead in his tracks when he passed the part of the pool that he saw in the dream. He blinked hard when he saw the familiar black shadow in the pool, though it was less defined and less solid now. Now it looked more like a random figure rather than any distinguishable form. Kind of like spilled ink. But it was there. He walked slowly toward it. Yep, it was definitely there. He didn't notice when the guys had gathered around him.

"'sup Baby Boy? How'd the date with the coach go?" asked Reid, slinging an arm around Tyler's shoulders.

"Huh? Oh, um, yeah, it went great," he murmured, still staring at the shadow that wouldn't go away.

"What'd he say?" Pogue said, stepping in front of Tyler to get his attention.

"He's making me pick-up boy until he sees a 'change in my character'," he said. Pogue looked at Caleb, who was looking at the younger boy worriedly.

"You feeling okay, Ty?" Tyler looked at him, his eyes a little unfocused. Caleb raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, I'm cool. I just thought I saw a-" he said, staring back at the pool. The boys followed his eyes to the pool. Tyler frowned. The shadow had disappeared. "Oh, whoa. Where'd it-? Nothing I guess I was just seeing things," he said, meeting Caleb's eyes. Caleb saw confusion in Tyler's eyes but decided not to press it. Together they stepped out into the still-bright sun.

"So, how about heading off to Nicky's, fellas?" Reid proposed, going around Tyler's Hummer. Pogue shrugged an okay, Caleb nodded and Tyler grunted his agreement. Reid jumped into the driver's seat before Tyler could and snatched the keys from his hand.

"I'm driving, Baby Boy," he said, gunning the engine.

"It's my car, Reid. I'm not in the mood for you to be a spoiled punk right now, okay? Just move over," Tyler said, clenching his jaw in determination. Reid looked at him with a smirk.

"Whoa, somebody's growing balls. What's up with you?"

"I just want to drive my car, not have you lord over it like you own it." Caleb glanced towards the two boys with a frown.

"What's with you two?" he asked.

"Tyler's being a sissy about his car, that's all," Reid answered through the rolled down window.

"Just let him drive, Ty," Caleb said impatiently. Feeling his anger rise to the surface, Tyler let out a huff and walked to the passenger side without another word. Once inside he slammed the car door shut without knowing it. Reid gave him a weird look.

"What's with you today?" he asked, gunning the engine. Tyler looked away, his jaw clenched.

"I don't wanna talk about it," he answered. Reid shrugged and pulled out of the parking lot. The ride to Nicky's was silent and tense with both boys refusing to talk. Tyler was still in a morose mood as they entered Nicky's. The music was on full blast and couples were gyrating merrily on the dance floor. He took in this scene with a look of disdain marring his handsome face.

"Reid! Tyler!" called Caleb from a table, where he was sitting with Pogue, Kate, and Sarah. The duo nodded their head in recognition and made their way slowly towards their friends.

"Sup, guys?" said Pogue, bumping fists with his brothers. Tyler and Reid sat down and were pulled into conversation. The girls were happily sharing anecdotes about their encounters with the Provost and soon everyone was laughing. Everyone except Tyler. He tried every so often to cut in and tell the guys about his dream and the incident at the pool, but they were too busy laughing around. Finally, after being cut off yet again by Kate, Tyler pounded his fist on the table without noticing it. Everyone in the table quieted down suddenly and stared at Tyler.

"What the hell, Baby Boy?" said Reid, who was the first to react. Tyler looked around the table at his friends, then looked down.

He cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Sorry, I was just thinking of something." The group looked confused, since an outburst from Tyler was as common as a lunar eclipse.

"What's on your mind, Ty?" asked Caleb with a furrowed brow. Tyler met their leader's eyes briefly before looking away.

"Nothing, it's not important," he lied. Suddenly, Tyler didn't want to share his experience with them yet. He didn't want to tell them when they were obviously not in the mindset.

"Aw, c'mon, man! There's gotta be something in that brain of yours. Spill," Pogue said, trying to lighten the mood. The girls remained silent, still looking wonderingly at Tyler. The young boy shifted in his seat, uncomfortable under their gaze.

"Look, I was just thinking of silly stuff. It's nothing life-threatening," he said. _Yeah right_. Reid didn't look convinced at all.

"Just say it," he said, running a hand through his blond hair impatiently.

"Fine! I was just wondering why I don't have a date tonight! Happy now?" he said suddenly. The lie rang brightly in his ears, making him even more uncomfortable. He hated lying, especially to his brothers. The group around the table fell silent, their jaws hanging open. And then laughter broke.

"You're actually _wondering_?"

"You don't know _why_?"

"He's _got_ to be kidding me!"

"Are you serious?"

"He needs a mirror, quick!" questions and mockery flowed easily from his friends' lips. Tyler glanced at his friends, growing even more uncomfortable than he already was. _This is what I get for lying. Whatever. _Once the silence had died down, the girls turned to him with grins on their faces.

"You're a good guy, Ty," Kate said, reaching over to put a hand on his arm in a comforting way.

"Yeah. And girls would really like you, except that…" Sarah added, trailing off with a look of helplessness. Tyler cocked his eyebrow.

"What they mean to say is, you're too much of a shy boy. That's cool and everything, but that doesn't necessarily get you the girl," Pogue said. Through all this, Reid was silent and observant. He tapped his fingers on his chin, as was his habit when he was thinking. Then slowly a smirk erupted on his face, a devilish look sparkling in his eyes.

Reid clapped Tyler on the back. "I may have a solution for you, Baby Boy." The smirk on his face turned into a full-blown Cheshire cat grin. Everyone sitting at the table turned to the blond boy with interest.

"Oh yeah?" said Tyler skeptically, his eyebrow still cocked at an angle. His insides were churning queasily, wary of what his best friend had in mind for him.

"How about we play a game of pool, and on the way, we'll spot a likely candidate on which you will hone your skills as a lover? Like that?" Reid asked, wagging his eyebrows comically. The group erupted in laughter again, including Tyler.

"What, you don't trust me?" the blond asked. Immediately Tyler quieted down.

"Are you serious?" he asked. Reid rolled his eyes and stood up, tugging Tyler's arm to make him stand up. The pair battled their way easily to a recently cleared pool table. Pogue stood up to follow his two friends.

"Gotta look after the kids," he said with a shrug. The 3 remaining at the table continued their chat. Tyler was already setting up the game when Pogue got to them. Reid was leaning on his pool stick, checking out girls for possible "candidates". Suddenly he let out a whoop and turned to the other guys.

"Check that out, Baby Boy," he said, nodding his head towards a blond standing by the jukebox. She still had her Spenser uniform on. Tyler looked at her for a while. Then he shook his head.

"No? C'mon man! Look at that beauty," Reid said, looking at his friend like he just turned down a pot of gold. Tyler shrugged.

"Tell you what. Find a girl who is wearing pink lace underwear, then we can get to business," he proposed.

"Why pink lace?" Pogue asked from where he was sitting at a barstool. Tyler just shrugged again and bent to take a shot. Reid looked thoughtful, tapping his fingers on his chin again. Then he nodded without a word and turned from the table, leaning against it and randomly flipping up girls' skirts with a fortunate gust of wind. Tyler continued playing, not caring if Reid found a girl or not. Two games of pool and half an hour later, Reid looked at Tyler with a frown.

"Find any?" asked Pogue. Reid glared at him.

"I found a ton of black thongs, red silks, blue cottons, and even a couple of bare asses, but not one of those ladies are wearing goddamned pink lace panties! What the fuck?" he said, running a hand roughly through his hair. Tyler shrugged again for the millionth time that night.

"Guess it's not your night, Reid," he said nonchalantly. Reid looked shocked that Tyler didn't care.

"Hey, you were the one who has bitching for most of the afternoon about it, and now you couldn't care less. What's really your deal tonight?" he asked Tyler suspiciously. They had a little battle of wills, Reid staring at Tyler, and Tyler not batting an eyelash. Neither was giving way and Pogue shifted his gaze from one boy to the other.

"Okay, okay. Keep it clean, boys," he said. Reid dropped his cue stick on the pool table and walked off. Tyler and Pogue knew better than to follow him and made their way back to Caleb and the girls. They were engaged in a serious conversation and didn't even notice when Tyler and Pogue joined them.

"I'm gonna get something to eat, you want anything?" Pogue asked the people around the table. They blinked up at him dumbly and turned back to their talking. "Guess not. Tyler?"

Tyler wasn't paying attention. He was once again absorbed in his thoughts, all revolving around the strange dream he had and the dark _thing _he saw at the pool. He was wondering what it was, his brow furrowing and his jaw clenching the way it did when he was thinking hard.

"Tyler!"

He jerked out of his thoughts. "What?"

"Do you want something to eat?" Pogue said exasperatedly.

"Nah. I think I'll just take off for the night. Can you make sure Reid gets a ride home?" he said, standing up and shrugging on his jacket over his hoodie. Pogue nodded and turned to order food from the bar. Tyler gave Caleb a pat on the back to signify that he was leaving, but this went unnoticed. With another shrug, Tyler walked out of the bar and opened the door to his Hummer. The short drive back to the dorms was silent. As Tyler was opening the door to his and Reid's room, he spotted a small folded piece of paper clipped to the note-holder above the doorframe. He reached for it, then entered the room while reading it.

_Mr. Sims,_

_For your information, your job as the"pick-up boy" will begin tomorrow. I will be expecting you earlier for practice. Do not make the mistake of skipping or I will extend that sanction. _

_Coach_

Tyler groaned and sank on top of his bed, running a hand over his face in frustration. He crumpled the note in his fist and threw it in the general direction of the wastebasket. Then he stood up, took of his shirt and grabbed a towel from his closet. He needed a long hot shower if he wanted to clear his head for tomorrow. He walked the silent halls towards the bathroom and pushed the door open. After setting the water to the highest bearable temperature, Tyler took off the rest of his clothes and stepped under the hot spray. The steam gathered thickly around him and he closed his eyes. He let the water run down his water, calming his frazzled nerves and cramped muscles. He felt a cold wave of air on his back and he opened his eyes with a start. The steam had grown thicker in the seconds when his eyes were closed. He couldn't even see his hands in front of him. The cold wind touched him again; this time blowing over is face. Tyler couldn't help the goosebumps that started over his body despite the hot water still pounding down his back. Then out of the steam, he made out a dark shape, not unlike the shape he saw in his dream. In the small confines of the shower stall, Tyler wondered why the figure looked so far away. But it seemed to be coming closer and closer. Finally it stopped to just a couple of feet before him. Tyler didn't know why but he had an overwhelming urge to touch it. Just as he came an inch within reaching his goal, he blacked out suddenly. The cold air rushed around him madly, making him shiver. As suddenly as he closed his eyes, he opened them again, looking around, confused. The cold air was gone, the steam had thinned and the water was still hot down his body. Tyler ran a shaking hand through his hair, glancing once more around the stall. He turned off the shower and wrapped a towel around his hips, getting out of the bathroom in a hurry. _What was that back there? I'm going crazy._

--

Tyler tore down the hallway leading to the swimming arena. He was running late. _Crap! Crap! Crap! _He kept repeating the mantra in his head as he dodged students and started taking off his school blazer in the hopes of saving time. He pounded through the double doors of the arena and ran swiftly towards the locker rooms, unmindful of the slippery wet tiled floors. Before he could even get a hand on the handle of the doors, it tore out of his grasp and he came face to face with a red-faced, pissed-looking coach.

"Mr. Sims," the coach seethed through clenched teeth. Tyler almost cringed.

"Sir, it's not my fault. Ms. Dorkin held us up for so long and I couldn't get out. I ran all the way from the other building just to get here. Please sir, it's not my fault," he explained in a rush. The coach held up a hand.

"It does not matter now. You are late, and that's that. Even if you were early, you won't be spending that much time here anyway," the coach said, "The provost just gave me a memo that a new student is arriving _tonight _at the Salem Airport and apparently she is a swimmer, so the provost wants a member of the swim team to pick her up. And since the rest of the team will be training for the State Meet, you will be the only one who is free. So, you will have the honor of picking up our latest recruit."

Tyler listened with mixed feelings. _I'm nobody's chauffeur. But I do deserve this punishment. But no one orders me around. But coach will have my ass for dinner if I talk myself out of this. _Finally, Tyler nodded his head.

"Okay, coach. What time does the flight come in? And how do I know who I'm picking up?"

"The plane will be there by the time you arrive at the airport. And don't worry, she's riding a private jet. You won't miss it," the coach said, and then he stuck his whistle between his lips and blew it hard into Tyler's face.

"Damn it, coach!" he said, sticking a finger in his ear.

"Get going!" without another word, Tyler turned on his heel, running as far away as he could from the coach and his ear-splitting whistle. He stopped by his room to drop off his things and change into a white t-shirt under a black sweater and jeans. He stuffed his feet into a pair of Vans. He left a note to Reid saying where he was going and soon he was in his Hummer, speeding down the highway towards Salem. It didn't take too long to get there and before he knew it, he was parking his car in the parking lot. He waited at the arrivals lounge for a private flight to be called. He played with his phone idly, watching the people rush past him. After a little more than 10 minutes a flight was announced over the PA system.

_Private flight 376 from Connecticut is now disembarking. _Tyler stood up and stretched his back. He ambled over to the arrivals gate and waited there with his hands in his pockets. The doors burst open and out came a man that Tyler assumed was the pilot, two ladies he figured to be stewardesses, and a big burly man in a trench coat. Behind this entourage was a tall and slender girl. _Hmm, this must be our new recruit. Not bad. Reid's gonna love this. _Tyler took in the girl's look. She was wearing dark, well-fitting jeans, with a deep purple silk top and a black deconstructed jacket. Her dark, almost black hair, was flowing loosely down her back in wide ringlets. But the thing that caught Tyler's attention, aside from her incredibly fine bone structure and clear complexion, was her amazing bright purple eyes. They were so purple that they rivaled her shirt's color. Tyler couldn't help but stare. The girl walked to him.

"Are you from Spenser?" she said, her voice imperative. She gave him a head-to-toe and wrinkled her nose almost imperceptibly. Tyler was immediately put off by her snotty attitude.

"Yeah, they sent me to pick you up. I'm Tyler Sims," he said, extending his hand for a shake. Even though he was pissed, he didn't forget his breeding. The girl took his hand delicately, trying to have as little contact as possible.

"Catherine Brown," she said.

"Where's your stuff?" he asked, noticing that her entourage was out of sight. She waved her hand dismissively.

"They'll bring it to the dorms later on. I need you to get me to the school," she said. Tyler almost rolled his eyes at her bossy tone.

"C'mon then. My car's over there," he said, walking away towards the exit. She followed him wordlessly out the airport.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Tyler had been steering the car in complete silence through the concrete roads for about 15 minutes now. The new girl was right beside him in the front seat; her body impeccably poised and her hands calmly rested on her lap. She had been in the exact same position all throughout the trip and looked like she had no plans of moving at all. The both of them had been trying avoiding conversation with one another; they knew that.

Tyler had thought of Catherine as nothing but a self-absorbed, 1st class snob from the moment she opened her mouth and was put off by her attitude. She had shown him that she indeed had no intentions of being friendly at all.

The whole trip went on like this; Tyler keeping his eyes on the road and Catherine feigning interest at the scenery that passed her window just so she wouldn't have to face him. Finally, after what seemed like forever for the both of them, they arrived at their destination.

Tyler got out of the driver's seat and made his way around the front of his car to open the door for Catherine, who climbed down without uttering a single word. "The pool's this way." Said Tyler as he started walking, signaling her to follow him. Again, she said nothing but simply followed closely behind.

The pair walked through a couple of hallways before finally coming through the double-doors leading to the pool area, where they found the team in mid-practice and the coach clutching his clip-board, waiting patiently at the edge of the pool.

"Here she is, coach" said Tyler lifting his arm lazily as he gave her a rather rude introduction. Catherine walked brusquely toward the coach and just ignored Tyler. "Catherine Brown" she said with a light smile (one Tyler hadn't seen since she arrived) and shook the coach's hand.

"Hello Ms. Brown. I'm Coach Edwins and I handle both the boys' and girls' teams." said the coach while shaking her hand. "Now I have your standard uniform swimsuit with me right now. Practices are every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday afternoon at 3. You can begin next week-"

"I can begin today." Catherine interrupted and caught Coach Edwins by surprise.

The coach gave his new recruit a wide smile, obviously impressed by her offer to begin right away.

"Alright then, the girls' locker room is this way. Here's the key to your locker, I've placed your swimsuit in there." He said to her, handing her a small key and pointing towards another set of double-doors. "Tyler here can get you a towel when you're done changing." He added lastly. Catherine simply nodded in his direction and disappeared through the doors.

Tyler was about to turn on his heel when Coach Edwins grabbed him by the shoulder and grinned. "You should learn from that one, Sims." He told him before letting go. _Whatever,_ the boy grumbled before shoving passed the coach and heading towards a large, wheeled, gray cart filled with towels. He quickly grabbed a towel from the cart and scanned the arena for any signs of his friends. Spotting them, he threw the towel over his shoulder and approached them, feeling a wave of embarrassment as he saw all three of his brothers grinning at him. Reid stepped forward and wore the widest grin among the group. "What?" asked Tyler, folding his arms and looking at him. "So, who's the chick?" Reid asked, patting Tyler on the shoulders. "More like witch." He replied, finally getting the chance to roll his eyes.

"Oh come on, can't be that horrible if she looks like THAT"

"Oh-ho! Yes she is, Reid."

"Maybe you did something."

"What?! I didn't do anything and-"

"_Exactly_." said Reid, poking his friend on the chest.

"I can't believe you! You're saying it's _my_ fault she's acting that way?"

"More or less, yeah. Look, you're just not doing it right"

Tyler let out a small snort of amusement before telling Reid, "Dude, if she shot _me_ down that quick what do you think she's gonna do to _you_?"

Laughter erupted from both Caleb and Pouge at Tyler's comment. "He's right you know." began Caleb. "If Tyler managed to probably piss her off within two seconds, you won't even last a millisecond."

"Wanna bet?" Reid said to Caleb, cocking an eyebrow.

"Go right ahead big boy, 'cause here she comes right now."

All of them turned their heads to look at the girl who had just come out of the locker room, wearing one of the academy's standard navy-blue swimsuits with black trimming –except for Tyler who was now making his way towards the girl. "Hey towel boy!" yelled Reid as he started to jog to catch up to Tyler. "Time for an introduction." He told his friend as the both of them approached Catherine. "Here." said Tyler, taking the towel from his shoulder and handing it to her. "Thanks." She said, taking the towel and wrapping it around her waist. Suddenly, an idea came to his mind and Tyler's face lit up and stretched into a small grin. "Hey Catherine, My friend here would like to meet you." He said, putting a hand on Reid's shoulder. "Catherine Brown, this is Reid Garwin. Reid, this is Catherine."

"Hello." She said coldly, eyeing Reid with suspicion but holding out her hand for him to shake anyway.

"Pleasure meeting you." He said, taking her hand and kissing it gently. "Catherine's such a beautiful name."

Tyler looked on as his friend attempted to woo the girl in front of him. This was it. This was where she would shoot him down, and hard. He let out a small grin, expecting the girl to say something. But much to Tyler's disappointment, Catherine let out a broad smile. As he saw that Reid's lines were actually working, he felt his grin slowly disappear into a look of surprise.

"Really? Do you think so?" she asked, tucking her hair behind her ear and stepping forward.

Reid gave a quick glance at Tyler before putting all of his attention into the girl.

"Yeah, I do."

"Really? And why is that?" she asked him, continuing to step towards Reid.

"Well, for one thing, It's not everyday that you come across such a beautiful girl with that name."

"Oh, you're only saying that." She said, resting a finger on his bare chest and stepping even closer now, making Reid step back.

"Not really. You're quite attractive."

"Why thank you! You don't look half as bad yourself." She commented, stepping closer and lightly pressing her hand on his chest.

"Really? You think so, huh?" he replied, backing up a few paces more. Before he knew it, the concrete beneath his feet began to disappear and Reid began to crash into the pool.

"On second thought, no. Not really." Catherine called out from the edge as the nearest group of people –including Caleb, Pouge and Tyler – began erupting into fits of laughter. "And I think that the only reason why you haven't met 'such a beautiful girl with such a beautiful name' like mine is because you're too pathetic to have even met one in you whole entire life. Now, unless all that chlorine has gone up your nose and affected your brain, you'd be smart enough to understand it when I say piss off and leave me the hell alone or else the only thing you'll be meeting these days are my 5 inch heels up your ass." With that, Catherine walked away, leaving Reid standing in the pool, completely dumbstruck.

As soon as she was out of earshot, Tyler walked over to the edge of the pool and crouched down low near Reid, grinning from ear to ear and wearing a look that screamed "I told you so."

"Damn!" yelled Reid as he pounded on the water. His reaction was only met with even more laughter from Tyler and from Caleb and Pouge who had come to join them. "I gotta tell ya, Reid. I thought you had her for a second there but I guess I was wrong!" said Tyler, loving every moment of Reid's downfall. "Oh this ain't over yet, Baby boy." retorted Reid as he began climbing out of the pool. "Weren't you listening to what she just said?!" he asked while still grinning. Suddenly, the coach sounded his whistle, calling for the attention of everyone in the arena. "Alright! I'd like to call on Madison, Watson, Stevenson and Brown for a small in-house freestyle competition!" he announced. "This should be good." Pouge commented, looking on at the four girls getting into position on the diving boards. "Right, at the sound of my whistle now!" the coach called out and after a matter of seconds, the shrill sound of his whistle echoed through the entire room and all four girls dove into the water and began to swim.

Each girl was very good and swam fiercely towards the other side of the pool. Madison, who had strawberry blond hair, looked like she was in the lead. The crowd cheered on while watching all four girls glide through the chlorinated waters. After a few moments, they reached the other side and quickly kicked off from the tiled pool wall. The girls were neck-and-neck but after a while both Madison and Catherine began to stream forward. It seemed as if they were going to finish together until Catherine began to gain even more speed. The coach's whistle sounded as Catherine emerged from the water and punched a fist through the air. She had just won.D

The crow cheered her on as she shook hands with the other girls and received a hearty pat on the back from the coach. "Good work out there, Brown." He told her with a smile. "Thanks, coach." She replied, drying herself off and wrapping the towel around her waist once again.

-

"Damn, the girl's a total bitch but she sure as heck can swim." said Reid as Tyler came inside their dorm room. He had just arrived at the dorms after staying behind to pick up all the messy towels all the swim team members had left behind. "Yep." He replied after taking off his sweater and T-shirt and plopping down on his bed. "No wonder you couldn't get her. You just couldn't handle her." Reid continued, reclining on his own bed and reading a magazine. "Yea- wait, what?!"

"You heard me."

"I can't believe you're still pitching me that bullshit."

"Hey, I'm just telling you what I think."

"Forget it Reid. I'm not listening to you."

"Hey, it wasn't me who was moping around Nicky's just because he didn't have a woman of his own."

There was a silent pause in the room. Reid knew he had struck a chord. Tyler wished he had never lied about that particular topic.

"Trust me man, if you listen to me, you can get any chick you want." Reid continued, breaking the small silence.

"Look man, I'll repeat what I said to you back at Nicky's that night: You find me a girl wearing pink lace and then we'll talk. If she's hot, I'll take her out." Tyler said, about to fall asleep.

"You'll take out the first girl I find with pink lace underneath, huh?" he asked him, making sure.

"Yep. First girl with pink lace. I'll take her out, if I agree that she's hot."

"Deal." agreed Reid.

After that exchange, the room began to fall silent once more until Reid finally decided to call it a night.

-

A quick beat filled the entire room as guitar riffs began playing from the old jukebox that lay in the corner of the local bar. The brothers were at Nicky's where they usually went to hang-out. All four of the boys were at the pool tables, beginning on their second game of the night.

"So Pouge, where's Kate? I thought she'd be with you." asked Tyler as he finished making a shot.

"She's with Sarah. Said that they'd be taking out a friend tonight." Caleb answered for him.

"So I guess that's the friend over there." said Reid, resting his hands on his pool stick. The rest of the guys paused to look up and found Sarah and Kate ordering something from the bar followed by a girl with dark hair and a slender build. "Check her out." Commented Reid, giving the girl a once over. He observed her for a moment, hoping the girl would turn around for a moment so he could get a good look at her face but was dismayed when she didn't.

"Boys!" said Reid, slamming down his palm on the table. "Let's forget the game. I say it's time to take up Tyler on his deal."

"What deal?" asked Caleb, a bit interested in the topic.

"Baby boy here told me that he would take out the first girl I found wearing pink lace underneath."

"As long as I agree she's hot." Tyler added.

"Right. So what do you gentlemen say?" Reid asked the group.

"I say, you do the honors, Reid." Pouge chimed in, wearing a small grin on his face.

"What? You guys are actually going along with this?" Tyler asked them, surprised.

"Of course, Ty! This is important. You need a girlfriend, don't you?" Caleb said, patting him on the back. This surprised Tyler even more. Even Caleb was encouraging Reid. "Alright then. Go ahead but I swear, you won't find anyone here."

"You should'nt underestimate my powers, baby boy." Reid said, already beginning to look under any random girl's skirt with the help of the ever convenient 'gust of wind' that 'suddenly' blew by. Once, Reid thought he had found his girl when he lifted Melissa Stevenson's skirt but Tyler interrupted his success by saying that she had been wearing _red_ lace and not pink. So, after that, Reid made sure to look closely. The night went on like this and Caleb had told them to give up when Reid finally hit pay dirt as he found sexy pink lace under the black skirt that Sarah and Kate's friend was wearing.

"Bingo!" exclaimed Reid as he looked at Tyler with a grin.

"Where?" asked Tyler, searching the room for the girl.

"Over there on the dance floor, gentlemen. Seems like that chick with Sarah and Kate was our girl after all!"

"I guess it's your lucky day, Tyler." Pouge told him while watching his girlfriend come over.

Tyler was surprised at the fact that Reid actually managed to find a girl and was beginning to feel a rush of excitement flow through him.

Pouge kissed his girlfriend on the forehead before saying something to her. The music was a bit too loud for anyone to hear their conversation, but Tyler managed to catch a few words Kate was saying. "He did…? yea sure!... oh you mean…? …call her over then…"

"Hey Cat!" Tyler finally heard Kate yelling.

_Cat? Wasn't that…? No… _Tyler screamed in his mind.Suddenly Kate's friend turned around at the sound of her name and began to walk over to the table.

"Guys, this is Cat!" Kate said cheerily to the group but was met with silence. "Oookaayy.. um, Cat, this is Caleb Danvers, my boyfriend, Pouge Parry, Tyler Simms and Reid Garwin." Kate continued, pointing out each boy at the sound of their name. "You!" said Catherine in shock, her bright smile fading away. "She's the friend you and Sarah were taking out?!" Reid exclaimed, on the brink of laughter.

"Yeah she is. We met her last Wednesday, How come?"

"She's the girl who managed to push Reid into the pool last week." Caleb explained, shaking the girl's hand. "I say good call."

"Thanks." Catherine said smugly, eyeing Reid. "Look, Kate, I have to go. I wanna get back to the dorm early. Can you tell Sarah I went ahead?"

"Sure."

After saying goodbye, Catherine turned on her heel and walked out of the door without glancing back.

"There you go, Baby Boy! The woman wearing the pink lace!" said Reid after Kate had 00 left to find Sarah.

"Unbelievable. No way, man. You said it yourself, the girl's a complete bitch." Tyler commented back.

"Uh-uh, Ty. You said it yourself: When I find the _first _babe in pink lace, you take her out! Now, I found you a babe and she just happens to be Catherine. We made a deal, man. Don't go chicken on me now."

Immediately, Tyler felt his feeling of excitement being replaced by a feeling of regret. Why did it have to be Catherine?


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Can you just NOT be a total retard for one second? Dude! Just grow some balls and ask her out already before I do it for you." Reid told Tyler after the last bell had rung. The school day had just ended and the hallways were already beginning to fill with students just itching to get back to their comfortable homes. Tyler shut the door to his locker and leaned on it before replying to his friends offer. "What? And ruin the whole deal? Dude, has your brain slipped out these past couple of days? Don't you remember that she pushed you into the pool and humiliated you in front of both the girls' and boys' teams?"

Reid had made it clear that he wanted nothing more than seeing his dear friend go up to that girl and get humiliated like he was that day during swim practice. "Besides, I'm taking my time. If you haven't noticed, she's not exactly 'Barbie the Fairy Princess'." Reid merely lifted his brows and shrugged a reply.

-

"So I trust that you've settled yourself in?" came a deep voice from the doorframe. It was the man she had promised her mission to; the main reason why she was there in the first place. The man had stark blue eyes which sparkled menacingly. His face wrinkled with a few years on his shoulder. His hair still dark but age beginning to show as silver strands clung to the sides.

He was a powerful man; Aging, but still holding a great amount of power. Through many other eyes, he is seen as a wicked man, who stops at nothing to accomplish his every want. But through her eyes, he is seen only as a father with a protective heart.

"Yes. Everything's in order." Came her short reply. She spared a glance out the glass window before turning to face the man whose very blood was flowing through her veins.

"You do remember your mission, don't you?" he asked lightly, knowing full well that she did.

"Of course."

"I had heard that Mr. Sims had been sent for you."

"He was. He brought me to the academy."

"So, I'm assuming you've made contact with all four of them?"

"Father, I've only been here for a few days."

"So you haven't?"

She grinned up at him. "I'm your daughter. You should know me far better than that."

Her father looked down at her with anticipation.

"Of course I have! Although I can't believe that you think I haven't. Garwin and Sims are rather aggravating though. Especially Garwin, I fear he's the most insulting person I've ever met, not to mention rude."

"Settle down, Catherine. Remember, you must befriend them before you can lash out. Patience, my dear, patience."

She sighed inwardly and slumped her shoulders a bit. "Don't worry." He said to her in a softened tone. With that he came closer and locked her into a fatherly embrace.

-

Several days had passed and no exchange of words of any kind had come from Tyler or Catherine. Neither of them had spoken or seen each other since that evening at Nicky's. Reid however, had met her with menacingly disdainful looks in the hallways in which she would return with cheerful smirks. And every time, her mocking face got to him.

"Would you ask her out already?! Man!" Reid suddenly burst out one drowsy Monday morning. Catherine had just passed by, giving him the usual mocking smirk and an additional eye roll. Tyler hadn't seemed to notice his friend's outburst. He was too busy fiddling with the lock to his locker.

When he had finally closed it the right way, he heaved a big sigh. "What's up? Panties twisted up to tightly today?" Reid quipped only to be met with another one of Tyler's sighs. He gave him a strange look before he turned to face him in one swift, animated action.

"Later." His head moved up then back as he said it. Before Reid could breathe a word, Tyler sped off in Catherine's direction, leaving Reid grinning from ear to ear. _Crash and burn._

-

"Catherine!...?" he called out from behind. She was making her way towards her English Literature class. What could he want? She stopped and turned and saw him jogging towards her. "Yes?" she asked as he stopped in front of her. He seemed deathly pale and his face began to fluster. He put both hands inside his pockets before speaking. "I was wondering - "

"No." she replied curtly.

"er- I haven't even asked the question yet."

"Still, whatever it is, no." she told him, beginning to walk away.

"Wait, could you at least let me finish?" he called out, resting a hand on her shoulder to get her attention.

"Look, I despise Garwin. Vile person." She announced, muttering the last sentence under her breath. "I also despise those people he manages to influence in any way. Now, seeing as he **is** your best friend, I would therefore consider you… contaminated." She shook her head and shoulders in interpretation of her dislike for them.

"But still, I'm NOT Garwin – I mean, Reid." He mentioned, surprised at what was already pouring out of his lips. "Just hear me out? Then I'll leave you alone."

She looked at him for a moment and considered.

"Fine. What is it?"

"Er- I was wondering if you wanted to go out for coffee with me sometime, maybe tomorrow?" he finally spat out. The both of them stared at one another for the longest time until she decided to break the silence.

"Is that all?" she asked. He nodded.

"Then no, Sims. I'm afraid not." She said simply and walked away. He looked after her and sighed, not even bothering to ask why. Reid was right. He had blown it.

-

When she was sure he was out of sight, she smacked a silver notebook against her forehead. _Damn._ That could have been her chance. She knew her father would have disapproved of her refusing prey when it had literally offered itself to her. But she refused to fraternize with them. There were other ways of luring them over to her. _Flirting_ was simply not an option.

-

Reid began whistling in a descending tone followed by a small noise that indicated an explosion. Tyler had just come back, this time wearing a slightly defeated look on his face. "So! How'd it go?" he asked, although already knowing his friend's answer. Tyler just gave him an annoyed look.

"Oh how do you think it went?" he replied with a slight tone of irritancy.

"Excellent, by the looks of it. So when's the big night going to be?"

He clenched his fists and sighed. Reid was going to make him say it.

"There isn't going to _BE_ a 'big night', okay? She shot me down, happy!?"

He was met with only amused laughter from Reid, who held up a hand to his ear.

"I'm sorry, what? Didn't quite hear ya there."

"She. Shot. Me. Down. Okay? Yeah, laugh it up. The only reason she shot be down anyway was because of _you_."

With that, Reid stopped laughing.

"What?"

"Yeah. She said that since I hung around you all the time, that made me '_contaminated_'." He explained, putting on an annoyingly high pitched voice to imitate Catherine. "So deal's over, okay? I asked her out. You got what you wanted. She shot me down. Everyone's happy."

He stretched the corners of his lips and shrugged his shoulders before turning on his heal to leave. "Hold on there, Baby boy. I'm not through with you just yet." Reid grabbed him by the shoulders and stopped him in mid-turn. Tyler groaned. "Didn't you already get what you came for?" he asked him, exasperatedly.

"_No_." he taunted, edging closer to his face. "I said you ask her out on a _date_. That means you should actually go on that said date before I start leaving you alone."

"God, you really have lost your head. Wasn't it enough for you that I said that she shot me down?"

"Who shot Tyler down?" came Pouge's voice from behind. Caleb had also followed and was now walking up to the group. "Catherine." Reid said, not bothering to take his eyes off Tyler.

"Woah now, Baby boy actually asked a girl out?" he chuckled along with Caleb. Great. Now even they were on his case, too.

Reid bumped knuckles with Pouge before becoming slightly more serious and continuing.

"Look, you've already had a go at asking her out once. Now the second time around won't be so hard, right?"

"Dude, can't I just ask out Kira instead?" Tyler begged, sounding an awful like his 10-year-old self.

"Eeeewww." All three boys wrinkled their noses in unison. "No!"

**A/N: Yeah, so B (the other person also writing this fic with me) asked me to write the next chapter for her as she's been having major writer's block issues. (As if I haven't either. :P) I'm Terribly sorry for this crappy update. I hope this chapter doesn't seem too irrelevant. But don't worry! The good stuff is coming up soon. **

**DeaSelene**


	6. Chapter 5

"Shot down!"

"Jesus! I can't believe you're still on that, Reid!"

Almost a week had past since "Operation Ask Cat Out", but Reid was still rubbing it in.

"Sorry man. It's just freakin' hilarious!" Reid said by means of apologizing.

"What's 'freakin' hilarious'?" Pogue asked with air quotes.

"Pogue, you just looked fucking retarded when you did that. Never do it again, for your own sake," Tyler said bluntly.

Pogue shoved him on the shoulder. "Don't change the subject, Baby Boy."

"He's just embarrassed to death about Catherine blowing him off!" Reid said with an evil cackle. Pogue grinned.

"Still moping about it, huh? Don't take it personally, Ty, you did say yourself that she was pretty bitchy," he said, clapping him on the back and shaking him a little.

Tyler had to fight the urge to roll his eyes as his long-haired friend.

"For the last time, I. Am. Not. Moping. I never cared about asking her out. I just did it because peroxide head here bet me on it. Dumb ass," Tyler said, shoving Reid in the process.

The blond lost his balance and collided with Caleb who was just rounding the corner in a rush.

"What the-? Watch where you're going Reid!" Caleb scolded as he bumped into a bank of lockers on his right.

"Baby Boy's fault, he pushed me."

"Why would you push him, Ty?"

Tyler opened his mouth to answer but Pogue beat him to it.

"He's still a little sore about Cat turning him down for a date," he grinned.

"Shut up, Pogue."

"Touchy. Don't worry, you'll get over it, Ty," Caleb said in a mock understanding tone, "Anyway, Coach wants us at the pool now. Something about 'special race day'," he gestured with air quotes.

"What is it with you two and that sissy gesture? You're becoming more and more like your girlfriends," Tyler remarked irritably.

Pogue hooked his arm around Tyler's neck. "At least we _have _girlfriends… _Baby Boy_," he said as he dragged the younger boy along. The three boys laughed and mocked him all the way to the pool arena. The coach was in their face the moment they stepped into the arena.

"Danvers, Parry, Garwin, _Sims_ you're late! Change into your uniforms and get back here in 1 minute!"

**P-R-R-R-R-R-T!!! **

The whistle echoed against the tiled walls, magnifying the already annoying shrill sound.

"Fuck! Stop doing that, Coach!" Reid exclaimed, covering his ears and making a mad sprint for the locker rooms.

Across the room he caught Cat's arrogant purple eyes. The smirk was still firmly in place.

_I'm loathing that girl so much_, he thought as he shot her a glare before running into the locker room with the guys.

"Damn it! My ears are still ringing!" Pogue complained as he yanked off his tie and started unbuttoning his shirt.

"I'm still dizzy!" Tyler added as he knocked on his temple while kicking off his shoes and socks.

"Can't even hear properly. How does he get it to go off so loud?" Caleb asked. The four young men were grumbling all the while as they hurriedly changed into their Speedos. They usually weren't scared of teachers, but something about Coach Edwins intimidated the hell out of them, especially when he started using their family names.

They got out to the pool just as Edwins was going to stick the whistle into his mouth.

"We're here! Don't blow on that thing, for God's sake!" Reid said as they made their way to the small group gathered around the coach.

"Attitude, Garwin!" he thundered, "Do you want to join Sims for pick-up duty?"

Reid immediately sobered up. "No sir."

"Good. Then keep your yapper shut. Alright, now I've been noticing that the boys' team has been going a little slack this month. My congratulations to the girls' team who have managed to consistently do a good job. Perhaps it helps you swim faster if you don't have over-inflated egos like the boys, huh girls?" the coach said, shooting the girls' team an approving smile.

The girls nodded their agreement.

"So, in order for us to bring back the boys' speed, I'm issuing a little race. Boys versus girls."

"No fucking way!"

"Shut your mouth Garwin or I will push you into the pool with rocks tied to your ankles," the coach threatened, "The boys will race with the girls according to their stroke. I'll leave it to you to figure out who you will be swimming against. Now go warm up. You have 10 minutes."

"I can't believe this. Boys will always be faster than girls," Pogue muttered. Cat heard him and ambled over to him.

"Oh really? We'll get to test that claim this afternoon then," she said haughtily.

"Bring it on, _girly_," Reid said mockingly.

"Do you want to take another dive into the pool, _blondie_? I'd be happy to give you a hand." She smiled a sweet smile laced with sarcasm then turned on her heel to walk back to the girls' team.

"I am so pissed at that girl right now," Reid stated.

"See? She pisses you off too! Why are you so intent on making me ask her out? You wouldn't do it yourself," Tyler accused him.

"Whatever, Baby Boy. A deal is a deal."

Tyler frowned at the blond and returned to his warm up exercises.

**P-R-R-R-R-T!!!**

Half the boys on the team jumped in surprise at the offending sound of the whistle.

"Time's up! Freestyle up first!" Edwins yelled over the protests of his swim team.

"You said 10 minutes for warm up, Coach!" Caleb remarked.

"Garwin's attitude is rubbing off on you, Danvers. Do you want to join your friend for pick-up duty?" the coach said in a mock kind tone.

Caleb shook his head no.

"Then get yourself up on that diving board now! Samantha Midfield, race against him," he called out, pointing to a dark haired girl. She nodded her head and ran up to the diving boards, yanking a swim cap over her head and positioning her goggles.

"Let's go, Caleb!"

"C'mon man!"

"Don't be beaten by a girl now!" Reid said sarcastically. Half the girls on the team sent him death glares.

The coach blew his whistle and the pair was off. Amidst the cheering and whooping, Tyler felt his gut wrench.

He grabbed Reid's shoulder. "Hey, do you remember what stroke Cat was swimming at her try-out?" he asked.

Reid gave him a puzzled look. "Uh, no I don't remem- wait! I remember! She was swimming backstroke," Reid said, "I don't get why you're so worried, though."

"In case you've been blind for the past four years, _I _swim backstroke, too," Tyler said agitatedly.

"So? What does that have to do with- Oh…" Reid trailed off as realization hit him. A glint of mischief sparkled in his already mischievous eyes.

"Dude! You're gonna be racing against Cat!" he laughed.

Tyler rolled his eyes. "Blinding flash of the obvious, Reid." The blond just chuckled at his misfortune.

"What's so funny?" Caleb asked, dripping wet and slightly winded. His race had just finished, and he won by a few seconds. Pogue was already up at the diving boards along with a tall blond to race for the butterfly.

"Tyler's racing the devil's bride for backstroke!" Reid said laughingly.

"Catherine? Good luck on that, Ty. She's pretty fast," Caleb commented.

"Really, Caleb? I had no idea!" Tyler said sarcastically. Caleb merely chuckled and ruffled the younger boy's hair before walking to the benches and grabbing a towel.

"Hey, don't sweat it, Baby Boy. I'm sure you can beat her easily," Reid said, trying to reassure his best friend. Tyler remained stoic.

Another brilliant idea popped into Reid's mind. "Hey Ty, I'm gonna give you a chance to get out of your date with Cat," he grinned.

"What's that?"

"I'll forget about this whole deal _if _you beat Cat at your race."

"Are you kidding?" Tyler asked incredulously.

"No, I was just shitting you," Reid said sarcastically, "Of course I'm not kidding! What do you say?"

"I say, shit yeah!" Tyler said with a laugh.

"That's what I'm talking about! Yeah!" Reid said enthusiastically. The two boys shook hands to seal the deal. They turned back to the pool just as Pogue was getting out, a triumphant grin on his face.

"I see the boys are cleaning up their act before the girls hand their asses to them. Good job, Parry. Next up! Sims versus Brown, 100 meter backstroke!" the coach said. A nasty blast issued from the infamous whistle.

"Good luck, bro," Pogue said, clapping Tyler on the back as the younger boy ran past him to get to the pool. At the same moment, he and Cat dove gracefully into the pool and came up to pull their swim caps and goggles in place. Even in the water, Cat's arrogant smirk was still on her face.

"Good luck, Sims, you're gonna need it," she said confidently, then blew him a sassy kiss before swimming over to the starting block. Tyler rolled his eyes and made his way to the shallow end.

"On your mark, get set, **P-R-R-T**!!"

They pushed off immediately, and began shooting to the other end of the pool. Tyler pulled ahead with strong strokes, but Cat was close behind. Tyler flipped at the deep end first and was gliding down the water.

_I'm not gonna let this ice queen beat me. Someone's gotta knock her down from her pedestal_, Tyler thought. He was getting close to the shallow end again, and just a few strong strokes and kicks and he would have it in the bag. He was beginning to get confident.

But something was going horribly wrong. Just a couple of meters from the finish line, he felt a thrum hit him through the water, sort of like an underwater shockwave. It knocked the breath from him, and his arms faltered for a crucial second. He managed to touch the wall afloat, but was dismayed to see that Cat had gotten there first.

"Huh. I guess you need more than good luck," she said condescendingly before getting out of the water. Tyler shot a glare her way and pulled himself out of the pool. He walked over to his friends, keeping his head down, a frown marring his handsome face.

"What happened back there, man? You were just a couple of strokes away when you kinda fidgeted," Caleb asked. They were looking at him strangely, like they knew that something was off, like that day when he'd seen the figure in the pool.

"Got a cramp," he lied by means of explanation. The others didn't look so convinced but before they could ask him further, the coach called for Reid to start the breaststroke.

"C'mon Reid!"

"Go Garwin!"

Caleb and Pogue turned to watch Reid race, and left Tyler to lean against the wall. He stole a glance at Cat, who was standing by the bleachers, hands on her hips, looking like she owned the place.

Tyler frowned and recalled the incident in the water. Was it his imagination, or did Cat's purple eyes glow with an ethereal light that looked too unnatural?

As if sensing his eyes on her, Cat turned her head to look at Tyler, meeting his gaze coolly. The light was still in her strange eyes, clearly visible across the room, and Tyler could almost feel his skin crawl. She smirked at him, flipped her wet hair, and turned back to the race.

Something was definitely off. It left the youngest Son of Ipswich unnerved and tense.


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"There is definitely something _up_ with that girl!" Tyler exclaimed to the table during lunch. They all paused and looked at him curiously. "What girl, Ty?" asked Caleb, taking a sip of his can of soda and peering back over Sarah's shoulder. He wasn't really paying attention to him. He was too busy reading along with his girlfriend but Tyler answered him anyway. "Cat."

"Oh, not _that_ again…" Pouge complained, tearing his eyes away from Kate in doing so. "Baby Boy, you _have_ to get over the fact that she shot you down." He took his arm from around Kate's shoulders and leaned on the table to face him, a slight hint of concern in his face. "It's been a week. I thought you'd at least shut up about it by now."

"What? No! Geeze, Pouge, I've gotten over that thing days ago." He defended. "She did something to me yesterday."

"Yeah! I saw it too, man. Damn," Reid exclaimed, patting him sincerely on the back.

"Really? You did? Thank God, I thought I was the only one." Tyler lit up.

"You mean that little thing that happened yesterday when you got you're butt whooped by some chick with claws? Yeah, I saw it. _Everyone_ did." He said mockingly, slinging his arms around his shoulders. "But dude, it's okay. Losing to a chick isn't so bad."

"Thanks, Reid." He said with an appreciative smile.

"Actually, no wait, I was thinking of that perfect world you always keep telling me about. So never mind. It downright _sucks._"

"Thanks, Reid." He said more sarcastically this time. Reid seemed to fall on deaf ears.

"I mean, being shot down by a girl stings, yeah. But getting shot down _AND_ getting your but whooped by the same chick has got to be _the worst_ thing in anybody's life."

The three boys chuckled but Kate and Sarah merely bit their lips to keep silent.

"Laugh it up, gentlemen. And afterwards, can you finally take me seriously for once?" he said, his patience starting to run out.

"I think you should really hear Tyler out, guys." Sarah pleaded on his behalf. In return he gave her a thankful smile. "_Thank you_, Sarah."

"No problem." She stood up gathered her things to leave, taking Kate along with her. "Catch up later, okay?" she told Caleb sweetly before being on her way.

Tyler waited a few seconds before he was sure they were out of earshot and that he had his friends' attention. "Okay so what did she do to you this time?" Caleb asked from across the table. Finally, his attention was on Tyler. He felt like a ten-year-old being scolded by his father, but if that's what it took to finally get them asking, so be it. "She did something to me during that race yesterday. She cheated somehow."

"You're not just saying that because you're bitter about the whole deal, are you?" it was Pouge's turn to ask the questions.

"No." he replied, "She knocked the wind out of me, slowed down my pace."

Caleb looked at him for a moment, as if figuring out whether or not to voice out his obvious reply. Tyler rolled his eyes knowingly. "I would have let it go, but then something happened afterwards."

"What?" Pouge asked.

"Her eyes. They were… glowing." His eyes widened to demonstrate.

"Oh whoop-dee-doo." Reid scoffed. "Great, another repeat of that Chase incident. Don't tell me she wants Caleb's powers too."

"What are you saying? Are you sure?"

"YES, Caleb. Positive. I looked at her eyes for a long time after we got out. They didn't stop glowing."

"Well then, if you're right about Cat, then we should all be on the look out. But don't go jumping to conclusions just yet. We can't be entirely sure that she's one of us. I mean after all, you obviously have some tension going on with her."

"Oooooh, tension." Reid crooned. "I bet that'll make for an interesting date, don't you?"

-

From far across the courtyard, she stared at them with watchful eyes, knowing exactly which son she would be going after. Shame, the Garwin boy _had_ been extremely tempting, but no, she had to take care of someone else before him. _He_ was top priority, the one she had to get rid of first before all the others. He would pay, along with his whole bloodline and precious little covenant.

Nobody should have left them behind. Nobody.

-

Some time in June, of the year 1665

"Thomas, I don't think it as safe to be around Salem for much longer." William said to him in a whisper. William Marshall Sims, a young man with a maturity and knowledge well beyond his years. Anyone around the village would see him as any other normal person, but that glint in his eyes spoke otherwise.

It was the dead of night in Salem village, its inhabitants all in the deepest of slumbers. "And what makes you think I, of all people, would be scared?" Thomas questioned, an incredulous grin spreading across his face. "I am, after all, not like all people. You should know that."

Thomas had mysterious, dark, sinister-looking eyes. But despite his dark demeanor, he was William's best friend. He was young, just like his friend was. Though, he meant well, his head wasn't always in the right place. He had thought of himself as somewhat invincible and took quite an amount of pride in himself.

"But I'm afraid time is running short. The walls have ears. They are starting to get suspicious!" he argued, pounding his fists on the rickety wooden table and sending a lamp crashing to the floor. His eyes darkened until it was no more than just black orbs; and just as the lamp was about to break, it halted and settled back into its rightful place. "So what if they are getting suspicious? They have no proof. They can't explain it." He replied, running his palm down his face. "But you know better than that. I know you do. Humans fear what they cannot understand, what they cannot comprehend and explain. The judge and the council will not fall on deaf ears to the cries of an entire village!" he drew closer to his friend. "Brother, you must come and join us before it's too late."

"And what? Run forever?" he shot at him with a tense tone. "I, unlike you and your _other_ brethren, am not cowardly and will not be kept silent!" William was no longer worthy of his respect; he had wanted to walk among mere men. "Why would you – why would all of you – want to spare the lives of these men when deep inside, you yourself know that they will eventually be coming after you? The way I see it, they'd be better off dead and gone!"

With that William tensed. "You're arrogance has always been the biggest flaw in you. Arrogance and pride."

"Better that than to fear what is beneath me." Thomas spat back. "You're nothing more than an outcast, a traitor to your own kind!" Without warning, he was pinned to the ground and looked up to see William frowning down upon him with dark eyes. "Go ahead, kill me! Let's see you do it." He tempted, looking back at him with spite.

For a moment, it seemed like he was going to finish him off but then, William's shoulder slumped and released his hold. "Weakling." He accused. Then, in one sweeping motion, William turned on his heel and left. "I wish you luck then, Thomas."

27 years later, 1692

The hall was silent; Thomas Brown and the judge – John Richards – were currently in a silent battle of wills. He had been accused of witchcraft by none other Sarah Osburne in an attempt to save herself from the hangings. Now he stood before the judge, his wife, and the entire village, awaiting his sentence.

"Thomas Brown, you have been accused of practicing witchcraft and contempt of court laws. How do you plead?" the judge asked him, his fingers laced together and his face expressionless. "Not guilty." He answered in confidence. Suddenly the room burst out into silent murmurs of doubt. "Liar!" One brave soul managed to shout from the corner, sending everyone into even louder murmurs. All of them turned to see Sarah Osburne, a woman whose youth had been stripped from her due to the events that had left her hollow and useless. Sarah was labeled a snitch, a traitor to her own kind. The others like her had made sure that her time in jail would be worse than hell.

Judge Richards pounded his gavel against its sound block, demanding silence. When the murmurs had died down, he cleared his throat. "That is a very bold plead, Thomas, considering the fact that the evidence presented to the court is against you."

"I am aware.

"But you have nothing to defend your case?" he asked concernedly.

"I'm afraid so, your honor."

The judge sighed.

"Very well, Thomas. Then I'm afraid-"

"Wait! Your honor, if I may speak?" pleaded a woman from behind Thomas. It was his wife, Rose. She stood slowly, strife clear in her expression. "You may." The judge granted.

"My husband is not the witch, as many of the people here believe." And the crowd before her gasped. Once more the judge drew his gavel to his sound block and the audience grew silent. "I am the guilty party. I should be accused, not my husband." She announced. Thomas turned his head towards her in a look of shock. She looked straight ahead, ignoring him.

"Rose Brown, you do know the consequences of those accused of carrying out the devil's demands, do you not?"

"Yes. And I take full responsibility for my actions."

"Very well." He said softly. "Those present here today have witnessed the confession of Rose Brown, wife of the accused Thomas Brown and true follower of the devil's evil ways."

"Your honor!" Thomas began to protest but was silenced by the judge's pounding gavel.

"Therefore, this court finds you guilty, Mrs. Brown and, as law states, is sentenced to death by hanging." He announced, his faced was yet again expressionless and blank. "The hanging will occur tomorrow, at dawn. Thomas Brown, you are free to go. That is all. Take her away." For the last time Judge Richards pounded his gavel to dismiss the court.

The next morning

The air was crisp and cold. The large crowd gathered around the wooden stage situated atop of Gallows Hill, named after the device responsible for the deaths of the many accused. Slowly, she walked up the wooden steps her face expressionless and waiting for her punishment to be served. He shoved through the gathering crowd and stopped when he arrived at the front. There, he witnessed as the executioner adorned her neck with a noose and tied her hands behind her back with a rope. He would never forget the last few words she had said to him that night when he came to see her in her holding cell.

"_I'm tired of your foolishness and arrogance, Thomas. William was right in asking me to join them." She said to him through the cold iron bars of her cell._ He heard his wife's voice play clearly through his mind. He was reliving his last moment with her.

"_William came to see you?" he replied, gripping the bars. _

He looked on, horrified as his wife edged nearer to the trap door beneath her.

"_Yes. He came to see me. He told me to come join them where it would be safe for me and my children. Where we would live without fear… but I refused him. Do you know why? Because of you. Because of my love and faith that you would somehow come to your senses. Now I regret my choice. Because with you, my son will be exposed to the monster his father has finally become."_

"_I don't understand, why are you doing this?" _

"_I will, of course, end up dead sooner or later. I'd rather sooner than later. So here I am now, awaiting my death."_

"_This is mad! I can still help you escape!"_

"_You do that and I swear to take my own life with that pitchfork right outside that window over there."_

"_I…" he trailed off._

"_Take good care of our son, Thomas. He's the only thing you'll have left to live for." She said finally before turning away._

The executioner looked grim. He began to wrap the rope around the beam above and stepped back. Rose sighed and closed her eyes, awaiting the moment. Then all too quickly, the executioner released the trap door. She felt the floor vanish beneath her. Her weight gave in to the force of gravity. She tried not to struggle. The quicker this would be over, the better. With one last breath, she opened her eyes and glimpsed at her husband before her entire body finally surrendered.

She was dead. The woman he had loved all her life was now dead, all because he had chosen to put his pride before her. She would have never done this if Sims had left the matter between the both of them. He was now the enemy.


	8. Chapter 7

CFY- Chapter 7

Cat stared across the courtyard at the happily lunching group that included the Sons of Ipswich. Her eyes landed on Tyler who was looking worried and frantically telling the group something that seemed serious. A little bud of worry bloomed in Cat's chest.

_Is Tyler telling them about what happened at the pool?_

But the bud soon died out when she saw the rest of the Sons joking, it seemed, at Tyler. Her smirk returned.

_They won't believe him. He's too much of a kid._

Cat closed her eyes and reached for her Power. She called for a cover of fog to descend from the clouds to hide her from what she was about to do. Taking in a deep breath, she opened her eyes and aimed them at Tyler. She sent a powerful burst of Power at him, causing him to lose his breath and clutch his chest suddenly. Cat smirked arrogantly, observing the youngest Son of Ipswich with a triumphant grin. She stayed where she was under the tree with her cover of fog.

_He's making this too easy for me. _

--

_What the hell is happening to me? _Tyler thought worriedly. He felt the same now-familiar hit from the pool. Like an invisible shockwave. It left his chest burning and his lungs emptying of air.

As if sensing a presence, Tyler's head snapped to the large window looking out into the courtyard. A confused frown marred his forehead.

_Odd. I'll bet a million bucks that fog wasn't there a few minutes ago. Maybe there's another storm. But the broadcast promised clear skies_, he thought, dizzy with the lack of oxygen. He squinted into the fog.

_A figure in the fog. Where have I seen that before? Why does it look strangely familiar? I need to get to it. I need to touch it_. He was almost delirious. Drunkenly, he leaned towards the figure, though it was outside. His hand outstretched to touch the figure, trying to grasp it.

_It's a girl's figure. A hot one at that. But it's so familiar. Think Tyler, think. Where have I seen this before? Where? _

The other Sons looked at him oddly. Tyler had a pained expression on his face, and his lips were starting to turn purple.

"Ty?" asked Caleb, unsure whether to laugh at the situation or be worried.

"Trying out for the drama club, Baby Boy?" Reid joked, but worry was in his tone. He looked to Caleb and then to Tyler.

_A gleam of purple. Like flashing strobe lights. Where have I seen that? C'mon, put it all together. A shockwave that feels awfully like the Power, a flash of purple light, and a figure in the fog. Think. _Tyler's vision was growing dark. He didn't notice his friends looking at him.

And then, with his last reserve of air, a name popped into the haze that was his brain.

_Cat?_

His brain had just barely made out the name when another blast of Power hit him, this time making him black out and fall to the ground.

"Tyler!"

--

The edges of his vision were fuzzy and he couldn't make out anything. He blinked slowly, his head swimming and throbbing.

_Man, this has got to be the worst hangover I've ever had. But wait. Was I even drinking? When was I drinking? _

Tyler felt confused. He felt like a part of his memory was missing. He tried to sit up, but a flood of dizziness forced him back onto his bed.

"Hey, he's awake," Reid's voice announced. Soon three heads hovered over his own, much like when Caleb almost drowned in the pool.

"Are you okay?" Caleb asked immediately. Reid snorted in the background, causing Caleb to look in his direction. "What?"

"Baby Boy just freakin' fainted in the cafeteria. Where does that indicate that he's okay?" Reid asked sarcastically, "and they call _you _the smart one," he half-whispered. Caleb sent him a glare before turning his attention back to Tyler.

"What happened back there, man?" Pogue asked.

"I don't know. What did it look like?" Tyler asked slowly.

"Well, first you got a little dazed. Then, you looked out the window with a frown. Then you got really pale, and I mean pale. You were reaching your hand out, like this," Reid demonstrated, "and it would have been funny if you weren't looking so serious, like you were thinking really deep."

Tyler thought hard. Flashes of that scene replayed. Then his mind snapped to focus and he remembered every single detail.

_Was it Cat? Could she have done that to me? Again?_

The three boys were getting worried. Tyler looked like he knew what happened. Maybe they should have taken him seriously when he warned them about Cat. But they didn't want to entertain the idea of yet another warlock out for their blood. The Chase incident was one time too many.

"Ty?"

Tyler snapped out of his reverie and turned to look at his brothers.

_Should I tell them? Surely they'll believe me now. But I don't have proof that Cat's really doing it. They won't take me seriously. This is something I have to work out on my own. _

"I, uh, I think it was just lack of air. The cafeteria was really cramped earlier, and it must've got a little too stuffy for me," he lied.

_Great. A couple of lies in a couple of weeks. What is wrong with me?_

His brothers didn't look too convinced, but they let it slide nonetheless. They knew Tyler would tell them when he felt ready to. They nodded their heads in understanding.

"Shouldn't we be heading back to class?" Tyler asked in a desperate attempt to divert the attention from him.

"Yeah, we should. We've got like 5 minutes to get to class," Caleb said.

"I've got freakin' ass Physics lab next, which is way over the side of campus. I'll go ahead, you guys," Pogue said. He bumped fists with the rest then fled out of the room towards the dreaded Physics lab.

Caleb and Reid turned back to Tyler.

"Feeling well enough to go, Ty?" Reid asked.

"Yeah, I'm good," he answered, standing up steadily. Reid handed him his school bag and the three left the room. Caleb left them at the door of his Advanced Algebra class while the two younger Sons headed to Intermediate Algebra.

Reid kept shooting glances at his best friend, trying to break the wall of silence that he had put around him. Tyler seemed distracted, or deep in thought, his eyes unfocused and hollow. They reached their classroom with a couple of minutes to spare.

Tyler felt uneasy for some reason when he entered the room. He scanned the rows of students and almost stumbled back when he saw that Cat was in the room. She was openly looking at him, her signature smirk in place, eyes purple but not glowing.

Reid led them both up to their usual seats, which required them to walk right past Cat. Tyler's eyes met hers briefly.

"How's your head, Sims?" she asked mock-casually. Her eyes flashed once before turning normal. Tyler glared at her and resumed his climb up to his seat.

"Did you see that?" he asked as soon as they were seated.

"See what?" Reid asked worriedly.

"Her eyes."

"What about them?"

Tyler looked at his friend exasperatedly.

"Nothing, maybe I was just imagining things," he said dejectedly. Their teacher came in at that moment and class began. Tyler couldn't concentrate. He was too busy keeping an eye on Cat.

_It has to be her. But why? Why is she doing this?_ Tyler thought. What he heard next in his head caused him to black out again.

Cat's voice rang in his head. _Because no one should have left us behind. No one should have betrayed us. _


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Tyler swam around in the darkness, trying to figure out where on earth he could be. Then he felt it.

It felt like a violet drill whirring into his head at an amazing speed. It came so suddenly and so powerfully that his instincts couldn't block the attack in time.

The force seemed to take a firm grasp on him. It was more than he could bear. He struggled and screamed but found himself weakening even more at the attempt.

The pain seemed to go on forever this way, making him wish he could just die right there and be rid of his prolonged suffering. Then something flickered before him; flashes of images alien to him began to flicker then increase in their length. Fiery emotions began to build up inside him with each scene that played out.

Abandonment, a trial, the horrible accusations he was being bombarded with, the feeling of fear and hate; then the prosecution of the woman he loved, followed by a terrible state worse than death. It was the worst life anyone could lead.

With each scene that flashed by, hatred had begun to swirl and envelope him. It was a powerful kind of hate. It was the murderous kind. Then without warning, Tyler fell back unto a misty gray haze as thick as curtains. The drilling pain still hung over him, but it loosened its hold.

"Years of injustice!" a fierce voice boomed from somewhere along the veil of mist. "Years of my family's suffering have led to this day." The voice clearly belonged to a woman and it was filled with spite.

Tyler could only make out a faint outline in the distance. The mist and the drilling pain in his head made it extremely hard for him to see anything.

The figure stepped forward. The mist thinned a little more. "Are you finally feeling it, Tyler?" It was Catherine. "Are you finally feeling all those centuries worth of hate my bloodline has garnered towards yours?" Suddenly, the drilling became even more torturous than ever before. A pained and hysteric scream erupted from his throat; he wanted death now more than anything. "Shhh," Catherine soothed like a mother would her child. "It'll all be over soon enough."

It took more effort than ever before, but Tyler managed to speak. "Why the hell are you doing this? What do you want from me?" he wheezed. He was barely audible.

"What do _I_ want from you?" she questioned. "What I want from you is justice; A life for a life. It's the punishment my bloodline has sought fit to give yours. Endless hours of honing my powers and skills have been devoted to this day."

Tyler helplessly struggled beneath her hold on him. Part of him wished she would just kill him already, but part of him was also curious as to why it had to be him that had to die. He tried to speak and ask but it had already become a task.

"I can hear your thoughts, you know," She informed him. "You see, you may not know it, but because of your family, my family had to suffer. Your bloodline abandoned mine and left us to burn at the stake!"

Death was inching closer to Tyler. "My father trained me to kill you."

Endless questions began to pop up into his mind, as well as memories of his friends and family. What would happen to them when he was dead? Would they ever know? Would Catherine's family be contented when he died? That was one thing he surely doubted. What would her family do once he was dead? Why did it have to be him who had to die when he lived out his life without any crime?

His own feelings of hate that had suddenly enveloped him before awakened once more.

"Goodbye, Tyler." Catherine bade him. He was a thread line away from death, both of them knew that. It would all be over in a moment. Images of laughter and love flooded through him in that instant; days of his childhood, the first time he had used his powers and ended up hanging upside-down in a tree, all those foolish things he and his friends had done over the years, that day he had seen Cat and thought of her as beautiful…

He felt Catherine ready to strike him with one last mental blow when he himself caught her own emotions. A large streak of doubt had crossed her mind. If _she_ had caught _his_ thoughts, then _he_ could catch _hers_ He was sure she had read into every last one of them.

Just when he thought his life would be over, the drilling pain ceased and he was released. Catherine had also disappeared.

"Shit, dude, thank God you're alive!" Reid almost screamed. Exasperation was clear in his tone. Something obviously had happened, but what? "I'll get the nurse," came the sound of Caleb's worried voice. His footsteps clicked against cold tiled floor then not a minute sooner, he was back.

He joined Pogue and Reid who were stationed on either side of Tyler's hospital bed. Before anyone could say anything, a tall and plump nurse waddled in. "Thank heavens, you're awake!" she exclaimed, her tired eyes revealing countless hours of lost sleep. "I was afraid you'd had a seizure with all that screaming you did." She shooed away Pogue and Caleb and did a quick check up on her patient. "I was especially worried when after all your fits, you never woke up." She pressed a button on the bed's remote control and it moved so that it lifted Tyler to a sitting position.

"I thought you'd gone comatose after that last fit you threw." She grabbed him by the shoulders and an icy sting ran across his back. He sat up straighter. Then the sudden movement made him woozy.

The nurse pushed him back against his bed and pressed the button again so that he was lying down. She scribbled the data on her clipboard before speaking, "It's rest for you; by the looks of what you've gone through, you'll need it." She turned her attention to the other three boys observing her routine. "And you, all three of you, should be out in twenty minutes, and not a minute later, do you hear me?"

"Yes, ma'am" the three replied in unison.

"What exactly happened to me?" Tyler asked, he felt groggy.

"You blacked out during lunch and just started screaming and squirming around." Pouge crossed his arms across his chest. He had meant to sound taunting, but concern got the best of him.

"We thought we would be in for another Chase fiasco." Reid added.

"How many hours have I been out?"

"Forty-eight," Caleb answered him this time. "What happened?"

Tyler closed his eyes, trying to remember. Then it started coming back.

"Cat!" he yelled frantically. "I'm telling you, it's Cat. She did this to me."

All three of his friends wore the same concerned, yet doubtful expression on their faces.

"She was going to kill me because my family ditched hers some time back in Salem," he disregarded their unbelieving expressions and continued, "I thought for sure she was going to finish me off… then she just disappeared." He trailed off, wondering.

"Definitely another Chase fiasco." Reid confirmed.

"I don't know how she's doing it, but I guess we should keep our eyes open and watch out for her." Instructed Caleb.

So now they listen?

Complete confusion and frustration washed over Cat as she slumped over to her bed. What in the world was wrong with her? She thought back on that precise moment she was going to end his life once and for all. She remembered every detail. She mentally and vocally scolded herself for being an idiot and failing. What was her father going to do to her now?

Somewhere along the way, doubt had managed to streak across her mind as she heard her victim's thoughts.

He was right. And she hated it that he had somewhat of a point.

She loved her father, but years of hatred had deteriorated him. What _was_ he going to do once Tyler was dead? Surely he wouldn't just settle for him. Eventually he would become hungry for more blood and ask her to murder even more people whom had personally done no wrong against her.

She was beginning to see the pointlessness in everything. It made her stomach churn.

What had she become? She dreaded talking to her father. What would he say? Did he find out?

As if on cue, someone knocked on her bedroom door. Before she could get up to answer it, it opened on its own and banged against the wall. She jumped in fright and clutched a hand over her chest.

"Father!"

"Catherine," he father acknowledged. He walked into her room in his long black trench coat, his dark hair perfectly in place. His face was calm and stately, but his eyes said a different story.

"I, uh, I didn't know you were coming. Did something come up?" she asked, trying to mask her nervousness.

"Oh, nothing, just thought I'd pay my only daughter a visit. Nothing wrong with that, right?"

He smelled something. Cat was so sure about it. He was testing her, giving her the chance to come clean with him.

"No, not at all, I just wasn't expecting you." Now she was getting nervous. Keep it together, Cat! She scolded herself. Where was the calm and collected girl she spent 17 years perfecting?

"Surprise, then."

An awkward silence filled the room. Cat began to pace the floor as her father settled himself in front of the window, looking out into the night.

After a tension-filled moment, Thomas Brown said quietly, "Is there something you want to tell me, Catherine?"

She gulped. "Um, I got into the school's swim team. They're really good, they got to State championships twice-"

"You know that is not what I'm talking about," he cut off quietly. Cat clamped her mouth shut in shock. "The mission."

"Th-the mission. Right. Um, it's going great, I came into contact with the Simms boy. He, uh, seems like an easy target."

She heard him let out a long, patient breath. "Word has reached my ears that you came into more contact with Simms than you let on. Is this true?"

"More contact? What do you mean?"

"You entered his mind. Even met him in our world."

"Really? Where did you hear that?" She was trying to stall, but saw a dead-end.

"Do not even think of lying to me!" her father blew up suddenly. "I have ways of finding out, Catherine, and some ways are painful. If it takes those measures to get honesty out of you, then so be it!"

"No, please!" she pleaded, remembering quite well the methods his father practiced. "I did meet him in our world, but he was stronger than I thought."

The lie burned guiltily down her throat, as if the words escaping her was poison.

"That is impossible and you know it. His power should be greatly weakened in our world. He would have been easily disposed of."

"He was strong, father, and I wasn't expecting it."

"I refuse to believe that the years and years of developing a world in such a specific way as to weaken the Simms power has been so easily conquered. He should not have been able to survive it," her father said, contemplating, "Unless of course, you did not try hard enough. Tell me, Catherine, do you remember the story I have been telling you since you were very young?"

"Yes, I do, father," she said timidly.

"Then you should also remember the shame and suffering that our family has endured."

Cat nodded her head.

"And you remember the mission that you accepted before the semester started?"

She nodded her head again.

"Then you will do well to fulfill your obligation to our family. You have a duty. You made a promise, centuries worth of promises."

Her head started to swim with contrasting emotions.

"Your life leads up to this moment, Catherine. This is what you are born for. I have trained you for this purpose. Do not disappoint me."

With that Thomas Brown swept out of the room, leaving it colder than it ever was.

_This is what you are born for._

Is this all I'm born for? Is this my sole purpose?

The thought haunted her for the rest of the night, and for the first time in her life, she longed for someone's warm embrace to hold her through her nightmares.

For the first time in her life, she felt the need for someone other than herself.

It took a few days, but Tyler was up and about and finally out of the hospital. He had been busy that week trying to catch up on lessons and homework but even that didn't stop him from noticing Cat's mysterious and sudden disappearance from school. Her presence (and lack thereof) bothered him greatly but part of him had wished that he had imagined everything back at the hospital.

Swim practice was over for that day. Tyler was, once again, the last person to leave the pool area. Despite his little incident, the coach never spared him from his sanction.

He pushed through the double doors of the locker room and found a very surprising sight before him.

Cat had just gotten out of the water, dripping wet and a contemplative expression on her face. She stopped dead when she saw him.

"What are you doing here?" Tyler was already starting to feel the drilling pain in his head.

"I'm swimming, what does it look like I'm doing?" she patronized, absently crossing her arms over her chest. She hadn't bothered to towel off, and now a small puddle of water began to form around her.

"Haven't seen you around school, lately." He accused, stepping closer to her.

"Miss me?" she asked almost threateningly. "People see me when I want them to see me."

Then Tyler simply snapped, "What the hell did you just do to me back there?" unable to hold back.

"What the hell are you talking about?" she questioned back at him.

"You know full well what you did to me, what you were about to do to me."

She met his gaze and matched it. "I guess that little incident of yours made you loony."

She made to leave but Tyler quickly reached out for her arm and snatched her back.

"Ow, you're hurting me, you freaking psycho!"

"Oh now I'm hurting you?" he yelled. "Who tried to kill who?!" The entire room echoed with his angry voice. It was the first time he did anything like that. Especially to a girl.

For a brief moment, it looked like fear had settled into Cat but it was quickly replaced by her usual haughty air. "Whatever meds their having you on are really starting to take their toll." She glared at him then tried to wrench her arm free but he firmly restrained her. "You let go of me this instant!" she struggled once again. After a while she was able to break free albeit lost her balance and slipped on the wet puddle surrounding her; sending her crashing headfirst and backwards into the pool.

She blacked out.

What was he going to do? He hesitated for a moment, deciding whether to jump in after her or let her come up by herself. Instinct told him to go with the first choice.

Seconds later, he got out of the pool, carrying Cat's unconscious body in his strong arms. He placed her on one of the benches surrounding the pool.

He was looking out for any signs of life but so far there were none. Panic and guilt began to stir from him. But why would he feel guilty?

He stared at her for a moment, deciding whether to give her mouth to mouth or not. She didn't seem to be breathing.

Instinctively, he knelt over her then opened her mouth and began blowing in air into her system. He stopped. Then when nothing happened, he continued the process. He repeated it several times, new worry seeping into him. She was going to die at his hands now.

Suddenly, he felt her stirring from beneath him. Her lips twitched, and then latched themselves on his in a kiss. Dumbfounded, he absently kissed her back but then realized what he was doing and abruptly pulled back just as he felt the slither of her tongue against his teeth.

He looked at her bewildered.

She looked as if she was in a dream-like state and stared back at him. Abruptly then, she jerked herself upright. A mixture of fear and shock was clear on her face. Both of them were silent and staring at each other.

She then bolted up, made a grab for her towel and ran towards the girl's locker room, her eyes never leaving Tyler. For the first time she looked confused and afraid.

What the hell was that?


End file.
